Washington County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

8,435

100.00%

9,801

100.00%

In Poverty

1,650

19.56%

1,302

13.28%

Not in Poverty

6,785

80.44%

8,499

86.72%

11 Years and Under

1,586

18.80%

1,687

17.21%

In Poverty

431

5.11%

332

3.39%

Not in Poverty

1,155

13.69%

1,355

13.83%

12 to 17 Years

841

9.97%

979

9.99%

In Poverty

165

1.96%

142

1.45%

Not in Poverty

676

8.01%

837

8.54%

18 to 64 Years

4,381

51.94%

5,515

56.27%

In Poverty

745

8.83%

668

6.82%

Not in Poverty

3,636

43.11%

4,847

49.45%

65 Years and Above

1,627

19.29%

1,620

16.53%

In Poverty

309

3.66%

160

1.63%

Not in Poverty

1,318

15.63%

1,460

14.90%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.